.785 

py l 




The "Virgin i us" 




AS REVIEWED IN 



ENGLAND 



AND REGARDED BY 



The New York Herald 



New York. 
1874 



The "Virgin i us" Case, 



AS EEVIEWED IN 



ENGLAND 



AND REGARDED BY 



The New York 'Herald. 



Pi 



New York. 
1874. 






25811 




./ 



/- 



>• 









NOTE 



As the reparation obtained by England in the case of the 
steamship Virginia* has elicited from the New York Herald an 
article which no American can read without a thrill of indigna- 
tion mingled with shame, so that article leads us to reprint, to- 
gether with it, a review of the same case, as published in the 
London Transatlantic Magazine, and the letter which, as given 
to the public through the press towards the close of December 
last, was addressed by the owner of the aforesaid steamer to 
Secretary Fish upon the subject. The tenor of the review shows 
that it was written from the United States, probably last sum- 
mer, when the Herald reproduced a leader of the London Times 
concerning the rights and attitude of England in the premises^ 
which caused several journals of this city and elsewhere to refer 
once more to the claims of the United States in that bloody case. 

These three papers, bound together in pamphlet form, contain 
a full exposition of the case in a few pages : the review compris- 
ing the facts and showing that Secretary Fish appreciated them 
correctly, but failed, however, to fully attain the redress due to 
the United States in face of such facts ; the letter alluded to set- 
ting at naught the opinion of Attorney-General Williams as to 
the ownership of the Virginius, and the article already mentioned 

containing a parallel between British and American action uj 

the subject, which is as creditable to Great Britain as humiliating 
to the United States. 

New York, Oct., 1*7-1. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/virginiuscaseasrOOgonz 



The Steamship " Virginius " Again. 



(From the London Transatlantic Magazine for October 1814.) 

It seemed that the case of the ill-fated Virginius was buried 
forever in the famous protocol agreed to between our Secretary 
of State and the Spanish Minister at Washington for a settlement 
of that case. But it seems also that a recent thunder of the Lon- 
don Times with regard to the claims of England in the premises, 
has so forcibly reverberated into Washington, that the documents 
on file at the State Department have been shaken, and the proto- 
col alluded to brought forward into full view once more. True, 
the attitude of Great Britain, as referred to by the London 
Times for redress due to British subjects in the case under notice, 
has created a sensation in Washington, and threats of compelling 
Spain to make amends for wrongs to American citizens in the 
same case have since been freely indulged in through the press 
and otherwise. Whether the United States have any claim left 
under the decision of the Attorney-General pursuant to the terms 
of the protocol is doubtful; whilst the claims of England for the 
massacre of 16 of her subjects among the crew and passengers of 
the Virginius cannot be doubted. But as Spain may allege that 
according to that decision, which was accepted by this Govern- 
ment' under the protocol, no claim can he entertained, it would 
not be amiss to lav before the public a review of the Virginius 
case. 

The steamship Virginius duly owned by a citizen of the Unit- 
ed States, and accordingly sailing under the American Hag with 
all her papers in proper order, was chased, fired at, brought to, 
and captured by a Spanish war vessel on the high seas. Nothing 
likely to afford the slightest pretext for such an outrage was 



S 





found on board the Virginius, beyond the usual supply of coal 
and the necessary provisions for her crew and passengers. Yet 
she was taken as a prize to Santiago de Cuba, where shortly 
thereafter the Spanish authorities commenced putting to death 
her passengers and crew, and had butchered 53 of them, when a 
British man-of-war arrived at that bloodstained place, and put a 
stop to the revolting butchery. The mere capture of the vessel 
under the circumstances before mentioned, involved a wanton 
outrage to the United States ; whilst the bloody work of the 
Spaniards over her unfortunate crew and passengers rendered 
that outrage hideous, and made humanity stand aghast at the 
crime arising therefrom. These outrageous and criminal deeds 
perpetrated on the plea that the Virginius was in the service 
of Cuban insurgents against Spanish rule in Cuba, were on the 
other hand, aggravated by the fact that among the men slaugh- 
tered without any other process of law than a drumhead court- 
martial were many American citizens, who, according to treaty 
obligations between Spain and the United States, ought to have 
been fairly and legally tried. But what has been the action of 
this Government in the face of such deeds ? Let us see. 

Official information of the capture of the Virginius by the 
Spanish war vessel Tornado on the 31st of October last, reached 
this Government first from Havana on the 5th, and next from 
Madrid on the 6th of the subsequent November. On the 7th 
Secretary Fish telegraphed upon the subject to General Sickles, 
United States Minister at Madrid, as follows: 

" The capture on the high seas of a vessel bearing the Ameri- 
can flag, presents a very grave question which will need investi- 
gation, and the summary proceedings resulting in the punishment 
of death, with such rapid haste, will attract attention as inhuman 
and in violation of the civilization of the age. And if it prove 
that an American citizen has been wrongfully executed, this 
Government will require most ample reparation. 7 ' 

Close upon the expression of this language, as if to test it, a 
telegram from Mr. Hall, the United States Consul-General at 
Havana, reached the State Department informing the Secretary 
that Ryan, an American citizen, and three of his fellow passen- 
gers by the Virginius had been executed on the 4th : but although 
such information was borne out by a telegraphic despatch which 



7 



on the 8th also reached Mr. Fish from Madrid, he did not stir 
until the 12th, when in receipt of another telegram from the same 
Consul reporting the massacre of the captain and 36 of the crew 
of the Virginius on the 7th, and 12 of her passengers on the 8th i 
the Secretary of State telegraphed once more to General Sickles 
with reference to so startling a report, and said : 

"If the report be confirmed you will protest in the name of 
this Government and of civilization and humanity, against the act 
as brutal, barbarous, and an outrage upon the age; and you will 
declare that this Government will demand the most ample repar- 
tion of any wrong which may have been committed upon any 
of its citizens, or upon its flag." 

The report giving rise to this language was soon fully confirm- 
ed. Its confirmation fell upon the public mind throughout the 
United States like a firebrand into a vast powder magazine. The 
explosion shook the whole country, and constrained Mr. Fish to 
address on the 14th the followiug despatch by telegraph to Gen- 
eral Sickles, viz : 

" Your telegram announcing adjournment of conference receiv- 
ed. Unless abundant reparation shall have, been voluntarily 
tendered, you will demand the restoration of the Virginius, and 
the release and delivery to the United States of the persons cap- 
tured on her who have not already been massacred, and that the 
flag of the United States be saluted in the port of Santiago, and 
the signal punishment of the officials who were concerned in the 
capture of the vessel, and the execution of the passengers and 
crew. In case of refusal of satisfactory reparation within 12 days 
from this date, you will at the expiration of that time, close your 
legation, and will, together with your Secretatry leave Madrid, 
bringing with you the archives of the legation. You may leave 
the printed documents constituting the library in charge of the 
legation of some friendly [tower which you may select, who will 
consent to take charge of them." 

The telegram acknowledged in the foregoing despatch bears 
date of the 13th at Madrid over the signature of General Sickles, 
and commences thus: 

" Conference appointed for this afternoon adjourned by Minister, 
because he had receive, 1 at a late hour last nighl information 
from the Captain-General that 19 of the persons on board the 
Virginius had been shot on the 7th and 8th instant." 



8 

This acknowledgment on the part of the Spanish Government 
itself, cleared the way entirely for Mr. Fish to proceed vigorously 
forward and redeem his above quoted language, by compelling 
Spain to make full reparation for the outrageous and criminal 
acts perpetrated under her authority in the case of the Virgimus. 
But how did he proceed further on in the premises? Let the' 
answer be found in his subsequent correspondence with General* 
Sickles, and his dealings with Admiral Polo, the Spanish Minis- 
ter in Washington. 

On the 15th a telegram of that date reached Mr. Fish from 

General Sickles in these words : 

-" Eeceived an ill-tempered note to-day from Minister of State, 
rejecting protest, and saying Spain would nevertheless, consider 
and decide questions according to law and her dignity." 

The protest here alluded to, is that which, in obedience to the 
telegraphic dispatch of the 12th from Mr. Fish, General Sickles 
made in a note addressed by him under date of the 14th to Mr. 
Garvajal, the Spanish Minister of State, who in his answer 
remarked : 

"The protest having been presented in general terms and 
without relation to any wrong inflicted on the American Union, 
the Government of th,e Spanish Republic cannot recognize your 
competency to make it, even as Spain would have had no such 
right with respect to the sanguinary acts which have happened in 
our own day, as well in the United States as in other nations 
of the old and new continents. The protest being thus rejected 
with, serene energy, I have to .fix my attention upon the harsh- 
ness of style, and upon the heated and improper words you used 
to qualify the conduct of the Spanish authorities. If the document 
subscribed by you lacks the solemnity which might be lent to it 
by the right to address it to me, the temperance of its form ought 
at least to have demonstrated that it was not dictated by 

passion." 

This quotation comprises but two short paragraphs of the 
Spanish note in which General Sickles was so sharply lectured, 
and to which he replied on the 15th, closing his reply with these 

words : 

"And if at last, under the good auspices of Mr. Garvajal, with 
the aid of that serenity that is unmoved by slaughter and that 



9 

energy that rejects the voice of humanity, which even the hum- 
blest may utter and the most powerful cannot hush, this Gov- 
ernment is successful in restoring order and peace and liberty 
where hitherto, and now, all is tumult and conflict and despotism, 
the fame of this achievement, not confined to Spain, will reach 
the continents beyond the seas and gladden the hearts of millions 
who believe that the New World discovered by Columbus is the 
home of freemen and not of slaves." 

On the 18th General Sickles addressed to Mr. Fish the fol- 
lowing telegram : 

"Minister of State replies to-day, under date of 17th, to my 
note of 15th, making demand in terms of your cable of the 
14th. After an inaccurate statement of our negotiations, Min- 
ister, in reply to the demand, declares : — First. That Spain will 
take no resolution until she is satisfied an offence has been com- 
mitted against the flag of the United States. Second. If it shall 
hereafter appear that, in violation of treaties, or of the law of 
nations, an injury has been done, Spain will cheerfully make due 
reparation. 

" Regarding this as a refusal within the sense of your instruc- 
tions, I propose, unless otherwise ordered, to close this legation 
forthwith, and leave Madrid, embarking at Valencia for France, 
taking the secretary and archives with me." 

On the 19th Mr. Fish telegraphed to General Sickles thus : 

" Last evening Spanish Minister communicated to me by direc- 
tion of his Government a telegram of yesterday's date, declaring 
the resolution of his Government to abide by the principles of 
justice, and to observe international law, to comply with the let- 
ter of treaties, and to punish all those who shall have made them- 
selves liable to punishment, regardless of their station, and to 
make reparation if right should recpiire it, urging at the same 
time that a knowledge of facts is necessary to proceed with i\w 
judgment required by the gravity of the case, and that the news 
which had reached them, like that received here, must be eon- 
fnsed. 

" The telegram to the Spanish Minister is subsequent in date 
to the Minister's note of 17th to you, and may be regarded as 
a reconsideration of later decision of the Government. Appre- 
ciating this fact, and determined to continue to be right in the 



in 

position he lias assumed, the President holds that the demand 
for a proper length of time to learn the exact state of the facts is 
reasonable. In view of this request you will defer your immed- 
iate departure from Madrid, and await further instructions." 

On the 20th General Sickles answered Mr. Fish by tele- 
graph as follows : 

" If permitted to offer a suggestiom with reference to your in- 
structions of the 19th, I would remark that the tone, temper, 
and substance of the written communications made to me by the 
Minister of State are very different from the apparent purport of 
the telegram sent to the Spanish Minister in Washington, and 
communicated to you. The refusal to say a word about the 
merits of the case, in reply to a demand repelled as arbitrary, 
inadmissible, and humiliating, was announced to me here on the 
same day that different professions were made to you. Mr. 
Carvajal's notes to me are exhibited here as showing the real 
position of the Government. They are offensive in form and 
unsatisfactory in substance. If we hesitate, it will be asserted and 
believed in Spain and Cuba that we pause before the defiant 
attiude assumed by this Government and people. This boast will 
be supported by the official and formal declaration of this Cabi- 
net in reply to communications I have made to it, in obedience to 
your instructions. Misapprehending our forbearance, Spain 
would abuse any success obtained by duplicity and delay, and 
show herself more than ever arrogant and regardless of our 
rights and dignity. On the other hand, any concession now ob- 
tained at Washington will appear to corrobate the intimation 
made here in high quarters and generally believed, that my 
action in the matter of the Virginius has not been in conformity 
with the instructions I have received, and is not approved by my 
Government, I have the best reasons for the opinion that my 
prompt! withdrawal from Madrid iii default of the reparation the 
President has directed me to demand, will convince Spain we are 
in earnest, and she will yield our terms and peace may be hon- 
orably preserved. The fact that Spain holds one attitude here, 
and presents another in Washington on the same day would seem 
to impeach her sincerity, and this dissimulation I am sure is due 
to the fear of a diplomatic rupture, or something worse. This 
Cabinet have already obtained all the information they will ever 
set from Cuba about this transaction. 



11 

"The Italian Government has kindly consented to allow Count 
Maffie, Charge d' Affaires of Italy in Madrid, to take care of 
American Interests here, and accept the custody of the library 
and property of this legation, on application being made by your 
authority through our Minister in Rome. I hope you will make 
the. request, and that this courtesy be duly acknowledged." 

On the 21st Mr. Fish telegraphed to General Sickles in re- 
ply, and said ; 

" Your telegram, suggesting a possible difference of attitude 
on the part of Spain in Madrid, and here, which you think calls 
for your withdrawal from Madrid, and asking a request to the 
Italian Government to authorize its representative to take care 
of our librarv at Madrid has been laid before the President, who 
decides that public interests require that you should remain at 
vour post until expiration of time heretofore named, or until 
further orders. If a difference exists, as you suggest, the Presi- 
dent feels it his duty to take into consideration the representa- 
tions made at Washington, which approach most nearly to 
compliance with our just demands, and he depends upon you to 
co-operate with our efforts to induce Spain to make such conces- 
sions as may avert a rupture between the two Republics, without 
questioning the sincerity of the Madrid Cabinet. It will not be 
possible to send a vessel to Valencia." 

By these instructions the negotiations were virtually withdrawn 
from Madrid to Washington, General Sickles remaining how- 
ever, at his post as instructed, and communicating daily with 
Mr. Fish by telegraph upon the subject. 

Up to this time the official intercourse between the Secretarv 
of State and the Spanish minister at Washington on the case 
under review, had been light and limited mainly to transmission 
from the latter to the former of telegrams from Havana and 
Madrid misrepresenting the facts in the premises. But on the 
21st Admiral Polo called at the State Department, and had an 
interview with Secretary Fish concerning arbitration of the ques- 
tion at issue through a third power, as suggested by the Spanish 
Minister of State in a telegram from him to the Admiral, who 
handed it to the Secretary on the previous day. At that inter- 
view "Mr. Fish remarked thai while the Government of the 
United States was most sincerely and earnestly desirious of an 



12 



amicable and honorable adjustment of the quests and was 
ready to refer to 'arbitration all questions which are perfectly 
subjects of reference, the question of an indignity to the flag ot 
the nation, and the capture in time of peace on the high seas o 
a vessel bearing that flag and having also the register and 
papers of an American ship, is not deemed to be one which is 
referable to other powers to determine ; that a nation must be the 
iuda-e and custodian of its own honor, and that he could not 
doubt that Spain herself, ever sensitive to the protection of her 
own honor, and ready to do justice, would appreciate the impos- 
sibility of the reference of such a question, and that until atone- 
ment be made to the wounded dignity and sovereignty of this 
Government, it cannot entertain a proposition ol arbitration by 

reference to other powers." 

Then Mr Fish adverted to the pressure of an indignant people 
as likely to bring about a rupture between two friendly nations 
in default of speedy reparation for the wrongs complained of, and 
went on to refer ""to the execution, in contravention ot the pro- 
visions of the Treaty of 1795, of American citizens captured on 
board the Virginms, and the refusal to them of the rights guar- 
anteed by that treaty of the services of advocates and of the 
presence of agents at their trial and at the taking of examinations 
and evidence, and to the detention of those captured under the 
flag of the United States, who had escaped the cruel and hasty 
executions which the authorities at Madrid would never justify. 

On the 24th Admiral Polo received another telegram Irom 
the Foreign Office at Madrid, which he handed to Mr. Fish, and 
which contained these propositions : '' 

"First Our disposition being known, would the Unite. I tetates 
ag ree to wait for" our solution which would be immediate on 
receipt of the facts in the case? Second. Would the President, 
notwithstanding the foregoing, still insist on submitting the, 
question to Congress ? Third. Could Mr. Fish at once designate 
the points of offence in view of treaty obligations and mterna- 

\ ti0 Mr. ten answered in a memorandum which he handed to 
Admiral Polo, and which ran thus : _ 

-1st The request is indefinite. No time is named within 
which the facts may be ascertained. Past experience in cases 



13 

of reclamation for offences in Cuba will not warrant us in enter- 
ing into an agreement which practically amounts to an indefinite 
postponement. 2nd. It will be impossible for the President to 
refrain from communicating the facts to Congress. It is his 
constitutional duty to do so, and the importance and gravity of 
the case are such as will doubtless lead Congress to desire 
immediately to have a full knowledge of all the facts known to 
the President. 3rd. Generally the points of offence are, the 
capture on the high seas by the Spanish war steamer Tornado, 
during the time of peace, of the regularly documented United 
States vessel Virginius, under the flag of the United States, on or 
about the 31st day of October last, and the conveyance of the 
vessel, with her passengers, officers, and crew, into the port of 
Santiago de Cuba, within Spanish jurisdiction, and the execution 
of a large number of such passengers, officers and crew, and the 
detention of the remainder and of the vessel. These acts are re- 
garded as violations of international law and treaty obligations." 
' On the 25th Admiral Polo called again upon Mr. Fish and 
read to him a telegram then received from the Minister of State 
at Madrid substantially insisting on delay to ascertain facts, on 
the plea that the Virginius "carried false papers, there being a 
contradiction between the description of the vessel and her 
papers." Among the remarks which Mr. Fish at once made in 
answer, appeared the following : 

" The United States, in their own interests as well as in the 
interest of all maritime powers, cannot admit the right of any 
other power to capture on the high seas in time of peace a docu- 
mented vessel bearing their flag. The flag which they give to a 
vessel must be its protection on the high seas against all aggres- 
sion from whatever quarter, and they reserve, to themselves the 
right to impure whether the protection of that flag has been 
forfeited. * * * * With regard to the Virginius the 
identity of the vessel captured cannot be questioned. It is known 
to be the same that received a United States register, issued at 
New York m September, 1ST* 1 , a certified copy of which is now 
in Mr. Fish's possession, and is," in fact, on the table before him 
and Admiral Polo. * * * The alleged discrepancy between 
the description of the vessel and papers is technical. It may be 
.Imt the vessel may have sustained damage requiring repairs. 



14 

which may have involved some change, as is suggested in her 
description ; but it is the same vessel, and she has not been 
within the jurisdiction of the United States since a date immed- 
iately after that of her register, and, therefore, could not have 
such changes noted on that register. Her papers, therefore, 
must continue to give her a national character, and, with her 
flag, must be her protection," 

On the 27th Admiral Polo called once more at the State 
Department, when Mr. Fish read to him a telegram received 
that day from General Sickles under date of the previous day in 
the following terms : 

" At half-past two this afternoon, half an hour alter I had 
asked for my passports, I received a note, dated to-day, from 
Minister of State, in which he says: — First. If it appear on or 
before the 25th of December next, that the Virginius rightfully 
carried the American flag, and that her documents were regular, 
Spain will declare the seizure illegal, salute the flag as requested. 
and return the ship with the surviving passengers and crew. 
Second. If it be proved that the authorities of Santiago de Cuba, 
in their proceedings and sentences pronounced against foreigners 
have essentially infringed Spanish legislation or treaties, this 
Government will arraign those authorities before competent tribu- 
nals. Third. Any other reclamations growing out of the affair, 
which either of the respective Governments may have to present, 
will be considered diplomatically, and if no agreement will be 
reached, they will be submitted to the arbitration of a third 
power named by mutual consent. Fourth. If the 25th day of 
December shall have expired without the Spanish Government 
having resolved, in so far as comes within its province, the 
questions arising out of the demand for reparation, it will hold 
itself bound to accord such reparation the same as if the right 
of the United States to require it were recognized, and such repa- 
ration will be given in the form specified in the first and second 
propositions." 

Then Mr. Fish addressed several remarks to Admiral Polo 
with reference to the telegram just quoted, one of them being 
couched in this language : 

" The propositions of Spain in the note communicated by 
General Sickles in his despatch cannot be entertained, in that 



15 

the first proposition practically asks the United States to consent 
that Spain shall hold and detain the vessel while she is seeking 
evidence to justify an act in derogation of the Sovereignity and 
jurisdiction of the United States." 

In answer to this remark, " Admiral Polo stated that he had 
received a strictly confidential and personal communication, re- 
questing to be informed if it be possible to make an arrangement 
whereby, if the vessel and men be given up. Mr. Fish would 
engage that inquiry be instituted, and, if the result required, 
that punishment should be inflicted on those who had violated 
any laws of the United States, reserving until further imforma- 
tion the salute to the flag." The reply which regarding this 
statement Mr. Fish made, after a short interval for consultation 
with the President, was substantially in the terms of ihe proto- 
col which will presently appear in full. That reply being tele- 
graphed by Admiral Polo to his government, and accepted by 
the same government as a basis of settlement, according to a 
telegram which under date of the 28th reached him from the 
Foreign Office at Madrid, brought about the following agree- 
ment, viz : 

" Protocol of the Conference held at the Department of State, 
at Washington, on the 29th of November, 1873, between Hamilton 
Fish, Secretary of State, and Bear-Admiral Don Jose Polo dc 
Bernabe, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 
of Spain. 

11 The undersigned having met for the purpose of entering into 
a definitive agreement respecting the case of the Steamer Vir- 
ginius, which, while under the flag of the United States, was on 
the 31st of October last captured on the high seas by the Spanish 
man-of-war Tornado, have reached the the following conclu- 
sions: 

'■'Spain, on her part, stipulates to restore forthwith the vessel 
referred to, and the survivors of her passengers and crew, and on 
the 25th day of December next to salute the Hag of the United 
States. If, however, before that date Spain should prove to the 
satisfaction of the Government of the United States that the 
Virginius was not entitled to carry the flag of the United States 
and was carrying it at the time other capture without right and 
improperly, the salute will be spontaneously dispensed with, as 



16 



in such case not being necessarily requirable ; but the United 
States will expect in such a case a disclaimer of intent of indig- 
nity to its flag in the act which was committed. 

" Furthermore, if on or before the 25th of December, 1873, it 
shall be made- to appear to the satisfaction of the United States 
that the Virginius did not rightfully carry the American flag 
and was not entitled to American papers, the United States will 
institute inquiry, and adopt legal proceedings against the vessel 
if it be found that she has violated any law of the United States, 
and against any of the persons who may appear to have been 
guilty of illegal' acts in connection therewith; it being understood 
that Spain will proceed according to the second proposition made 
to General Sickles, and communicated in his telegram read to 
Admiral Polo on the 27th mst., to investigate the conduct of 
those of her authorities who have infringed Spanish laws or 
treaty obligations, and will arraign them before competent courts 
and inflict punishment on those who may have offended." 

". Other reciprocal reclamations to be the subject of considera- 
tion and arrangement between the two Governments; and in 
case of no agreement to be the subject of arbitration, if the con- 
stitutional assent of the Senate of the United States be given 

thereto." 

" It is further stipulated that the time, manner, and place tor 
the surrender of the Virginius, and the survivors of those who 
were on board of her at the time of her capture, and also the 
time, manner, and place for the salute to the flag of the United 
States, if there should be occasion for such salute, shall be sub- 
ject to arrangnment between the undersigned within the next 

two days. 

(Signed) ' Hamilton Fish, 

Jose Polo de Bernabe." 

Such are the main features of the action developed by this 
Government on the Virginius case. During its developement 
the restless sea of public opinion in this country ran boisterously 
and high ; now dashing angrily upon the State Department — 
now resounding with war cries, which mingled awfully with the 
din of bustling Navy Yards, where every available vessel was 
hastily fitting out to the great advantage of Government contrac- 
tors and their confederates in office. But Commodore Fish 



17 

weathered the storm with his wonted skill, and doughtily held on 
to the helm of his ship until he came to an anchor in Protocol 
Harbor. Let us now see how. fair the protocol looks in the sequel. 



Owing to delay on the part of Spain, the last, or closing stip- 
ulation of the protocol was not duly acted upon before the 8th of 
December, when Mr. Fish and Admiral Polo met again, and 
agreed over their signatures that on the 16th of that month " the 
Virginius should be surrendered and restored by a Spanish 
vessel of war to a vessel of war of the United States in the har- 
bor of Bahia Honda; that the survivors of those who were on 
board of the Virginius at the time of her capture should be sur- 
rendered to and safely escorted on board of a vessel of war of 
the United States in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba within 48 
hours after the notification to the authorities of that place of the 
arrival of such vessel; and that on the 25th clay of the same 
December a vessel or vessels of war of the United States would 
be in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, where at noon that day 
the United States flag should be raised on a Spanish fort or 
battery and a salute of 21 guns fired, which would be duly re- 
turned by a vessel of the United States, which would raise the 
Spanish flag to that effect, if, according to the protocol, there 
should be occasion for such salute." A few days after this ar- 
rangement the Virginius, which had been taken to Havana, was 
stealthily run out of that place during the late hours of a dark 
night and conveyed by a Spanish man-of-war to the harbor 
of solitary Bahia Honda, where on the 16th of December an 
ensign of the Spanish navy delivered her over to the commander 
of the United States war vessel that arrived there to take charge 
of the Virginius, whose surviving crew and passengers to the 
number of 102 persons, were on the 18th of that month surren- 
dered and conveyed on board of another war vessel of the United 
States at Santiago de Cuba. By this time the Attorney General 
of the United States, to whom for examination and decision, 
Secretary Fish had transmitted on the 11th of December, to- 
gether with the copy of the protocol, a lenghty note from Ad- 
miral Polo, bearing date of the previous day and accompanying 
sundry papers on the ownership of the Virginius, had decided 



18 

that that vessel " at the time of her capture was without right 
and improperly carrying the American flag." 

There were, among the papers adverted to. authenticated copies 
of the bill of sale, certificate of register and other documents 
issued at the New York Custom House, showing that the Vir- 
ginius was duly owned by John F. Patterson, who is a native 
born citizen of the United States. Against these documents 
were set up affidavits and depositions of several parties, who 
swore and deposed before a United States Commissioner to the 
effect that Mr. Patterson was not the real owner of the Virgin- 
ius, but certain Cubans, who furnished him with the money to 
purchase her for their use in the struggle between Cuba and 
Spain. Over all such papers Attorney-General Williams brood- 
ed for several days, and then rendered his opinion upon the 
subject. In rendering it under date of the 17th of December, he 
reasoned thus : 

" Section 1. of the Act of December 31st, 1792, provides that 
ships or vessels registered pursuant to such act ' and no other 
(except such as shall be duly qualified according to law for car- 
rying on the coasting trade and fisheries, or one of them) shall be 
denominated and deemed ships or vessels of the United States, 
entitled to the benefits and privileges appertaining to such ships.' 
Section IV. of the same act provides for an oath, by which, 
among other things, to obtain the registry of a vessel, the owner 
is required to swear ' that there is no subject or citizen of any 
foreign Prince or State, directly or indirectly, by way of trust, 
confidence, or otherwise, interested in such ship or vessel, or in 
the profits or issues thereof.' Obviously, therefore, no vessel in 
which a foreigner is directly or indirectly interested is entitled 
to the United States registry, and if one is obtained by a false 
oath as to that point, and the fact is that the vessel is owned, or 
partly owned, by foreigners, she cannot be deemed a vessel of 
the United States or entitled to the benefits or privileges apper- 
taining to such vessels 

" The Virginius was registered in New York on the 26th of 
September, 1870, in the name of Patterson, who made oath as 
required by law, but the depositions submitted abundantly show 
that, in fact. Patterson was not the owner at that time, but that 
the vessel was the property of certain Cuban citizens in New 



19 

York, who furnished the necessary funds for her purchase. * 
Nothing appears to weaken the force of this testimony, though 
the witnesses were generally subjected to cross-examination ; 
but on the contrary, all the circumstances of the case tend to its 
corroboration. With the oath for registry the statute requires a 
bond to be given signed by the owner, captain, and one or more 
sureties; but there were no sureties upon the bond given by 
Patterson and Shepherd. * * Assuming the ques- 

tion to be what appears to conform to the intent of the protocol, 
whether or not the Virginius, at the time of her capture, had a 
right, as against the United States, to carry the American flag, 
I am of the opinion that she had no such right, because she had 
not been registered according to law ; but I am also of the opinion 
that she was as much exempt from interference on the high seas 
by another power, on that ground, as though she had been law- 
fully, registered. Spain, no doubt, has a right to capture a 
vessel, with an American register, and carrying the American 
flag, found in her own waters assisting or endeavoring to assist, 
the insurrection in Cuba, but she has no right to capture such 
vessel on the high seas upon an apprehension that, in violation of 
the neutrality or navigation laws of the United States, she was 
on her way to assist such rebellion. Spain may defend her terri- 
tory and people from the hostile attacks of what is, or appears to 
be, an American vessel; but she has no jurisdiction whatever 
over the question as to whether or not such vessel is on the high 
seas in violation of any law of the United States. Spain cannot 
rightfully raise that question as to the Virginius, but the United 
States may, and, as I undei stand the protocol, they have agreed 
to do it, and, governed by that agreement, and without admitting 
that Spain would otherwise have any interest in the question, 1 
decide that the Virginius, at the time of her capture, was with- 
out right and improperly carrying the American Flag." 

Leaving aside that the so-called testimony giving rise to the 
opinion above set forth is one-sided, as not a word was heard 
from Mr. Patterson, the defendant in the case — the cross- 
examination of witnesses being from the District Attorney, who 
appeared by direction of Secretary Fish, in consequence el a 
note which under date of the 23 of November he received from 
the Spanish Minister at Washington ; thai since the Virginius 



20 

sailed from this port in the autumn of the year 1870 until the 
very day of her capture, she was always commanded by a citizen 
of the United States, as the law requires, and had all her papers 
in proper order, notwithstanding the want of surety on the bond 
of her owner and master at Custom House ; that in face of these 
facts the Virginius was in several instances protected at every 
hazard by United States cruisers against Spanish war vessel on the 
Caribbean sea, to the avowed satisfaction of this Government ; 
that Mr. Pattebson, if heard, might have proven that his trans- 
action with the Cubans did not in the least affect his lawful 
ownership of the Virginius," and that on this account no fair 
decision could be given without hearing him in the premises, — let 
the language of the Attorney-General be the only ground on 
which to rest the case for argument. 

Granting for the sake of argument that the affidavits and de- 
positions before mentioned may be regarded as sufficient evidence 
to conclude therefrom that the Virginius at the time of her cap- 
ture had no right, as against the United States to carry the 
American flag — the question recurs :— But why was she, however, 
exempt from interference on the high seas by another power ? 
Because she was a regularly documented vessel of the United 
States, as her record showed, without the slightest plea to the 
contrary in United States court. On this ground, even as against 
the United States she had a right at the time of her capture to 
Jly the American flag, the opinion of the Attorney-General to the 
contrary notwithstanding; for no man can be adjudged without 
right in any case whatsoever before it is proven, according to 
due process of law, that he is wrong. It follows, then, that the 
Virginius at the time of her capture was not only carrying the 
American flag rightfully and properly, as against Spain or any 
other power, but was also fully entitled to the protection of this 
Government, as a vessel of the United States to all intents and 
purposes. Therefore the capture of that vessel on the high seas 
involved a wanton outrage against the United States, which be- 
came terribly aggravated by the immediate slaughter of a large 
portion of her crew and passengers at the hands of Spanish 
authorities in Cuba. This was the question at issue, and not how 
Mr. Patterson got the money which he paid for the Virginius 
to this Government, or whether his Custom House bond for 



21 

registry of that vessel lacked the surety which similar bonds lack 
as regards many Amerian ships without their nationality being 
impaired thereby. But the legal adviser of the Government 
preferred to conform strictly to the protocol, and the more so 
as his worthy colleague, the Secretary of State, in transmitting a 
copy of it to him, together with the other papers before mention- 
ed, as received from the Spanish Minister, made particular 
reference thereto, and then remarked : 

" The President desires your opinion upon the force of this 
evidence, whether it does substantiate to the reasonable satisfac- 
tion of this Government that the Virginius was not entitled to 
carry the flag of the United States, and was carrying it at the 
time of her capture, without right and improperly." 

This remark looks more like the " leading question " through 
which a shrewd lawyer elicits from his witness on the stand the 
answer wanted, than like the stern language befitting a note from 
the State to the Law Department of a great nation. But Mr. 
Fish on receipt of his answ r er, which he transmitted to Admiral 
Polo, pursuant to the terms of the protocol, received also an 
energetic, yet respectful letter from Mr. Pattekson, the owner 
of the Virginius, protesting so far as himself and ship wer^ con- 
cerned, against the decision of the Attorney-General, and request- 
ing a copy of the proceedings giving rise to that decision, for 
him to examine the same and assert his rights in the premises at 
the proper time. This letter which was very ably written, scat- 
tered to the winds the opinion of Attorney-General Williams 
upon the subject, and the Virginius sank off the coast of North 
Carolina, while in tow of the United States sloop-of-war Ossipec ;* 
but the protocol remained afloat to be recorded in history beside 
the main facts of the case, as a remarkable diplomatic achieve- 
ment on the part of Spain, and an everlasting stain on the fair 
escutcheon of the United States. To be sure, Spain notwith- 
standing her great responsibility in this case, yielded under the 



* No vessel ever sank so conveniently as the Virginius did. Otherwise she 
would have become a source of considerable embarrassment and annoyance to Mr. 
Fish, iu consequence of his having formally accepted the opinion of Atlornev- 
General Williams, against the right of tin Virginius to carry the American dag, 
and that opinion being untenable before an Admiralty Court, where the owner of 
the vessel would have obtained judgmenl for her recovery witli damages. E. 



22 

protocol even less than she did for her comparatively light 
responsibility a few months previous in the case of the English 
yacht Deerhound, as that vessel which had been captured by a 
Spanish cruiser and found loaded with war materials for the 
Carlists in arms against the lawful Government of Spain, was on 
the demand of England given up with all her cargo and passen- 
gers, although among the latter were some prominent Carlists ; 
whilst the United States owing to the same protocol fell short 
of full redress, from the fact that the Virginius instead of being 
sneakingly restored at an obscure place, was not surrendered in 
broad daylight at Havana under a salute from the batteries of 
that citadal to the American flag, and similar salute fired at the 
time of the surrender of her surviving crew and passengers in 
the Harbor of Santiago de Cuba, which together with the signal 
punishment of the perpetrators of the criminal deeds giving rise 
to such atonement, was the reparation due to the United States, 
and which irrespective of indemnity to the bereft relatives of the 
Virginius victims, England regarded as just and moderate, ac- 
cording to a telegram from General Sickles to Mr. Fish under 
date of the 25th of November. But Mr. Fish, unmindful, it 
seems, of all this, as well as of the telegram, which on the 19th 
of November General Sickles addressed to him, stating that 
" Spain asked the good offices of England, but that Lord Gran- 
ville declined unless on the basis of ample reparation to the 
United States," gathered his telegraphic despatches of the 7th, 
12th, and 14th of November above cpuoted, and with the assist- 
ance of Attorney-General Williams, buried them in the protocol, 
regardless of the angry screeches of the American Eagle, and 
the wailing of the relatives of the slaughtered crew and passen- 
gers of the Virginius. 



2° 



6 



LETTEE FROM THE OWNER OF THE " VIRGINIUS." 



No. 177 West Street, 
New York, December 26, 1873. 
Hon. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State : — 

Sir, — I am the registered owner of the steamer Virginius, re- 
cently seized by the Spanish gunboat Tornado, which steamer, 
the newspapers inform me, has been since delivered to a United 
States naval officer, and is soon to arrive at this port. 

Immediately after I knew of the seizure o r the Virginius and 
the shooting of persons fou^d on board of her, I consulted my 
counsel, informing them of all the facts relating to my ownership 
of that vessel, and was by them advised that our Government 
would certainly use all proper means to recover that vessel and 
bring her back to the United States — not because her voyage 
was innocent or I her owner, but because, in the situation in 
which she was found, our Government would maintain that no 
other nation had the right to determine these questions of na- 
tionality against the vessel or her owner, and therefore that the 
best course for me would be to do nothing in the matter for the 
time being, nor probably until the vessel was restored to the 
United States, unless, meanwhile, my Government should in some 
way, by its proper officers, call upon me for information. 

Following the advice of my counsel, I have remained quietly in 
New York attending regularly to my business, well knowing that 
the Government could easily communicate with me if it desired, 
until now, when I learn from the newspapers that the Attorney- 
General of the United States on the 17th inst. condemned me 
and the Virginius — himself deciding both the law and the facts 
■ — in ;i proceeding to which 1 was not summoned, and against a 
vessel which was yet in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The only copy of this opinion of the Attorney-General that I 
have seen has been in the New York newspapers of the 23d inst., 
and from such a eopy I extract in this letter. 



24 

From, this opinion I learn that on the 11th of December you 
wrote to the Attorney-General, submitting " a large number of 
'documents and depositions;" after an examination of which he 
has written you a letter, which concludes as follows :- " I decide- 
that the steamer Virginius at the time of her capture was with- 
out right and improperly carrying the American Hag." 

The foundation of fact upon which this opinion, or, as I should 
perhaps say (using the words of the Attorney^General), this deci- 
sion seems to rest is stated by the Attorney-General to be because 
the Virginius "' had not been registered according to law ;•" and 
this fact is said to have been proved by the testimony of certain 
witnesses named in the decision. The proceeding in which these 
witnesses were examined is not explained ; but the Attorney- 
General invests their depositions with all the force which belongs 
to evidence, taken judicially, in the presence of the party to be 
affected thereby, who has had an opportunity to contradict the 
same ; and he so invests them when he says : — 

u Nothing appears to weaken the force of this testimony, though 
the witnesses were generally subjected to cross-examination ;" and 
again, when he decided as follows : — 

' I cannot do otherwise than to hold upon this evidence that 
Patterson's oath was false, and that the registry obtained in his 
name was a fraud upon the navigation laws of the United States." 

The plain import of these words is, that a legal investigation 
has been made against me, that I have cross-examined the wit- 
nesses, and that I have been unable to offer anything to " weaken 
the force of their testimony." If anything were needed to 
strengthen this plain inference from the la-nguage used the public 
has found the same in the improbability that the Attorney- 
General would assume to decide a question, affecting so seriously, 
not only the character and rights of an American citizen, hut 
also the standing of the United States upon a question so im- 
portant as that which was involved in his decision, without, at 
least, giving to the person most interested therein an opportunity 
to be heard. 

How these proofs were taken I can only inter from the decision 
itself, which quotes from the protocol " that if Spain should prove 
to the satisfaction of the United States that the Virginius was 
not entitled to carry the flag," then a certain salute should be 



25 

dispensed with, and I, therefore, suppose that Spain furnished the 
proof, which, in the absence of any contradiction, has made a case 
"to the satisfaction" of the Attorney- General. 

But whether this testimony was taken by Spain alone, or by 
the United States alone, or by the two Governments acting to- 
gether, I know not, for I was not present and have not seen it. 
But I do know and do assure you that any testimony that I was 
not the true and sole owner of the Virginius at the time when 
she was registered is utterly false ; for I did not swear falsely, 
but truly, when I took the oath necessary to obtain her registry 
as an American vessel, and of this I remain certain, notwith- 
standing the Attorney-General has decided that he " cannot do 
otherwise than to hold" to the contrary. 

It is not part of my present purpose now to criticise the testi- 
mony which Spain has furnished to the Attorney- General. Spain 
had the right to make an ex parte case against me and the Vir- 
ginius; and my Government could not but receive the same, and 
thereupon determine whether or not it would proceed against me 
and her in the courts by due process of law; and I suppose such 
was your object in referring this ex parte case to the Attorney- 
General for an opinion. Of all this I could not have complained : 
but, en the state of facts till now existing, I did not suppose it 
possible that Spain could, by a mere ex parte case, furnish proof 
" to the satisfaction of the United States" sufficient to obtain a 
judgment which, though it may not be final against me, would 
seem to be final and conclusive upon the United States in its con- 
troversy with Spain. 

The Government had for months by its cruisers protected the 
Virginius against Spanish war ships, whose officers had protested 
that her registry papers were illegal ; and within the last few 
weeks our eountry has been on the verge of a war with Spain, 
which war would have been justifiable only on the ground that 
the Virginius was American until the contrary was legally 
proved in a court of the United States; and I had been advised 
that no decision could be made against me and her, except after 
an open trial in court, in which accusers and accused would he 
alike represented. 

It seems, however, that I have been wrongly advised. 

The Solicitor of the Treasury had given me a hill of sale of the 



26 

Virginius, in which he had agreed with me and ray assigns " to 
warrant and defend the said steamer against all and every per- 
son and persons whomsoever." I had thereupon sworn she was 
mine; and the Government had given her an American register, 
which has ever since protected her ; when now, of a sudden, just 
as she is being escorted to the United States, not perhaps as her- 
self innocent, but yet as a kind of trophy of successful negotia- 
tions to maintain the rights of the United States, this bill of sale, 
this oath, this register, this protection, and, as it seems to me, 
even this rejoicing over rights maintained, are each and all held 
to be a fraud both upon the United States and Spain ; and this 
decision is made, to put it as strongly as possible, simply because, 
perhaps, a dozen persons have sworn that I did not pay the 
United States for the Virginius with my own money. 

The property of any landlord might, by a similar process, be 
proved to belong to his tenant, if only half of the persons em- 
ployed by that tenant could be made to swear that the landlord 
did not own the same ; nor would anything^!/ appear to weaken 
the force of this testimony," if the landlord were not called into 
court. And this might, perhaps, even be " corroborated" if it 
could not be " found" that either the landlord or the tenant had 
" insured" the building " after," as in the case of the Virginius, 
"pains had been taken to ascertain the same." 
• If, in Spain, an inquiry had been instituted which was lo affect 
my rights of person or property I should have been protected by 
the seventh article of the treaty of 1795 between that country 
and the United States, which declares that United States citizens, 
in all trials in Spain in which their rights are concerned, ' ; shall 
have free access to be present at the proceedings in such causes 
and at the taking of all examinations and evidence which may be 
exhibited." 

But here in my own country, Spain furnishing ex parte evi- 
dence against me, I have been condemned, as I could not have 
been lawfully condemned even in Spain. 

Leaving the case as the decision of the Attorney-General leavesv 
it, it seems to me that Spain, after having violated her treaty ob- 
ligations by executing American citizens in Cuba without due 
process of law, has succeeded, even without a hearing, in con- 
demning both me and the Virginius, here in the United States, 



27 

where United States citizens should at least have as much pro- 
tection against Spain as Spain has agreed to give, them when they 
may be on trial in Spain. Even Captain Fey and his unfortu- 
nate companions have had one advantage over me ; for they were 
present before the extemporized judge who condemned them 
upon evidence which, even if false, they yet heard. 

Of course I am aware that, however controlling this decision 
may be in condemnation of my Government, the rights of indi- 
vidual citizens are so protected by the constitution that I cannot 
thereby be deprived of property or liberty; but yet, you well 
know that such a condemnation from what the statute has de- 
nominated the Department of Justice is calculated to injure me 
more than a verdict of a jury, and, as I have no appeal there- 
from to a Supreme Court, I have felt it my duty, declaring my 
innocence, to make this protest against a decision which must 
alike have astonished and gratified that Foreign Government 
which, by its agents, has procured its depositions against me.* 

In conclusion, I ask that you will please furnish me with a 
copy of the "documents and depositions" upon which I and the 
Virginius have been tried and condemned by the Attorney Gen- 
eral, and that you will also please notify me of the time and 
place when and where any other witnesses are in this matter to 
be examined and " subjected to cross-examination." 

I send a copy of this letter by the same mail to the Attorney- 
General, and shall think it due to myself to make the same pub- 
lic on the day of its probable receipt by you and him. 

Yours respectfully, 

JOHN F. PATTEKSON. 



* The record shows that Mr. Sidney Webster, counsellor at law and son-in-law 
of Secretary Fish, was one of the agents of Spain, in the Virginius case. — K 



28 



INDEMNITY TO THE BRITISH SUFFERERS IN THE 

"VIRGINIUS" CASE. 



(From the New York Herald. October 17, 1874.) 

The special despatch from London, printed in the Herald yes- 
terday, provokes a mortifying comparison in the minds of patri- 
otic Americans who recollect the high national tone of our 
diplomacy under former administrations. The British Govern- 
ment has recovered from Spain adequate pecuniary damages for 
the brutal outrages committed in Cuba against the ill-fated sub- 
jects captured on board the steamer Virginius and put to death 
in violation of law, justice and humanity, whereas the American 
Government, whose honor was insulted, its flag outraged and its 
citizens wantonly butchered, has received no corresponding rep- 
aration. Our claim to compensation is every way superior i.o 
that of Great Britain. It was against us that the chief outrages 
were perpetrated. According to the natural and proper course 
of proceeding our Government should have been the first to en- 
force satisfaction for that great affront and injury. We were the 
principal party in the controversy against Spain, and it was due 
tu the national honor that our claim should stand first on the list 
and that reparation should have soonest been made to us as the 
chief complainant. It is the shame and scandal of the American 
administration — a shame and scandal which should bring blushes 
to the cheeks of the Secretary of State — that our demand for jus- 
tice has been prosecuted with less vigor and success than that of 
England. It was not a British but an American vessel that was 
unwarrantably seized by the Spanish steamer Tornado. It was 
not the British but the American flag that was torn down with 
every mark of contumely and execration. Had British and 
American ships of war been present at the time in the West 
India waters where that outrage was committed it would have 
been the duty not of the British but of the American commanders 



29 

to interfere and rescue the captured Virginius. It was directly 
and peculiarly our affair and only remotely and indirectly the 
affair of the British Government. If there was any just order of 
precedence in making reparation for the injury our claim should 
have been pressed with most vigor and paid with most prompti- 
tude, because we were the party whose honor was most deeply 
involved and whose right to redress was the most incontestable. 
It is a burning humiliation to Americau diplomacy that in a case 
like this a subordinate party has taken the lead by its superior 
vigor, and has enforced satisfaction, while the American Govern- 
ment is still knocking in vain at the doors of Spanish justice. 

Our means and facilities for enforcing our claims were everv 
way superior to those of Great Britain, if our Government had 
but had the skill and energy to employ them. In the disturbed 
and revolutionary condition of Cuba we had what was equivalent 
to a hostage for the good behaviour of Spain. The Spanish Go- 
vernment is not ignorant of the deep sympathy of our people with 
the Cuban insurgents. American public opinion would, at any 
time since the Virginius outrage, have warmly supported the 
Government in recognizing the independence of the island and 
sundering forever the colonial tie which makes it an appanage of 
Spain. Had Mr. Fish taken advantage of the condition of Cuba 
he could easily have brought the Spanish Government to terms, 
and have saved himself from what even he must regard as the 
great humiliation of being eclipsed by the diplomacy of Great 
Britain in a matter wherein British honor and diplomacy are so 
slightly involved in comparison with those of the United States. 
It was not in the power of the British Government to press the 
Cuban question into its service. The American policy, commonly 
called " The Monroe Doctrine," which has been so constantly 
proclaimed to Foreign Governments for more than half a century, 
precluded Great Britain from making Cuba a lever for the en- 
forcement of her claims. But Cuba lies at our door. It is only 
eighty miles from our coast. By its geographical position it be- 
longs to the American political system. Our Government in 
former times made repeated offers to purchase it from Spain. 
Our people have always taken and continue to take a lively in- 
terest in its affairs. That fertile island is forbidden fruit to 
Great Britain; but to us it is, to borrow an expression of John 



30 

Quincy Adams when lie was Secretary of State, a pear not yet 
fully ripe but certain at some future time to drop into our lap. 
Had Mr. Fish been keenly alive to the possibilities of the situa- 
tion he could have so worked the Cuban question as to have 
made it a potent engine of coercion in compelling Spain to do us 
justice. He did not see his advantages. He has permitted Eng- 
land to get the start of him and force a recompense denied to us , 
in a case where our claim took precedence to hers and our means 
of making it respected were beyond all comparison superior. 
Mr. Fish has every reason to feel abashed that the English 
Foreign Minister has so got the start of him in recovering dam- 
ages from Spain in a matter in which national honor bound us to 
stand forward as the foremost claimant. . 

All our impulses forbid us to be a severe critic of Mr. Fish. 
He is not only a citizen of the same State, but one of the most 
justly esteemed of our fellow townsmen. His social respectability 
and the pure lustre of his private virtues make it a most unplea- 
sant duty to find fault with his official shortcomings. But the 
seductive courtesy and complaisance which make a high-toned 
host the most delightful of entertainers are misplaced if they 
lead an appointed guardian of the national honor to be too gentle 
and easy in his official dealings with Foreign Governments. 
Softness and refined courtesy deserve every kind of encomium in 
their proper place, but they cannot be put into the scale against 
justice and honor in the intercourse of Governments. A high, 
proud and even punctilious sense of what is due to the character 
of the Government he represents is one of the first duties of a 
Minister for Foreign Affairs. The courtesy of such a functionary 
should be reserved for his social intercourse with the representa- 
tives of other Governments; but in all matters which concern the 
honor of the country and justice to its citizens he should be as 
firm and unbending, and he would lose nothing in being as vigor- 
ous and aggressive, as Lord Palmeeston was when British in- 
terests were in his keeping. A Government which brooks no 
approach to an insult, which is prompt in its resentments, which 
asserts and vindicates the rights and interests of its citizens or 
subjects in the highest tone, avoids a hundred difficulties and 
complications into which it might be drawn by a feeble and vacil- 
lating attitude toward Foreign Powers. ■ There is alwavs a great 



31 

clearing of space around a thoroughly determined individual or 
a thoroughly determined Government, When it is well under- 
stood that a Government will not allow itself to be trifled with 
and will stand no nonsense the paths of its diplomacy are open 
and easy. The British Government has established this kind of 
reputation, and Spain did not dare to brave its resentment by 
withstanding its claims in the Virginius case. But the halting- 
feebleness of our recent American diplomacy has taught that 
weak Government that it incurred no risk in postponing Ameri- 
can demands for redress. 

If Mr. Seward faltered and trimmed in the diplomacy of the 
war he had a justifiable excuse. When he backed down in the 
Trent affair, when he pocketed the Monroe doctrine and the in- 
sult to our Government in the attempt of France to establish an 
empire in Mexico, he acted under a stress of circumstances which 
left him no choice. A foreign war in either of those conjunctures 
would have assured the success of the Southern rebellion, and he 
wisely forebore to take the high and defiant ground on which our 
Government would have stood if its existence had not been in 
peril. Mr. Fish has no such excuse in dealing with a weak na- 
tion like Spain at a time when we had no other foreign complica- 
tions. There was not a Government" in Europe which would 
have interfered in a quarrel between us and Spain. We were in 
a position to dictate the mode and measure of redress which was 
due to our insulted flag and injured citizens, and it is owing to 
the sheer feebleness of the Administration that Great Britain has 
succeeded in enforcing just redress for injuries which were pri- 
marily committed against us and in which her claim was subor- 
dinate and incidental to ours. 

Previous to the war no nation was so proud and exacting on 
all points of national honor and all occurrences which involved 
a ny question of protection to our citizens as the United States. 
JSTo nation then dared insult us; no nation then dared refuse re- 
dress for a manifest wrong; no nation ventured to make a com- 
plaint without getting a taste of the vigor of our diplomacy. 
The most noted diplomatic papers of Webster and Marcy, both 
addressed to the Austrian Government, are cases in point. The 
abasement of our national pride under the abjeci foreign policy 
of President Grant is a humiliation to which the American peo- 
ple cannot be reconciled. 



/ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




